Wire-reinforced, flexible hose is in common use in vacuum cleaner devices wherein an electrically operated component such as a brush at the remote end of the hose receives its power through the hose wall. The helical reinforcing wire serves both as an electrical conductor and as a structural member in such hoses. Two, parallel, helical wires are commonly employed, each insulated with plastic and a multiple ply wall of flexible plastic is disposed about the wire-convolutions.
Molded plastic end-fittings are typically located at each end of such a wire-reinforced, flexible hose for connection to other components of the vacuum cleaner device. U.S. Pat. No. 3,636,285 illustrates typical terminals which are embedded within the plastic end-fitting and serve to establish an electrical and mechanical connection between the exposed end of the wire-helix and the next component of the electrical circuit.
The prior art method of making this connection has been to straighten the wire-helix and then force-fit a socket to the terminal over the straightened wire. This is a labor-intensive operation and requires special attachments on the stripping-bending apparatus in order to handle hoses of different diameters. One disadvantage of the prior art practice is that the terminals frequently slide off the pre-straightened portions of the wire during the molding operation in which the terminal is embedded in the end-fitting wall.
It is the principal purpose of the present invention to provide a method and means for forming such connections wherein the terminal is resiliently self-locked onto the wire end-portion at the outset and will not inadvertently dislodge from the wire during the molding operation.